They’d already been up the hill as far as they could, looking to see if there was an outpost of guards. Nothing. The castle was deserted, or so it seemed. Ryder knew better. It wasn’t like the Sons of Darkness were going to post demons outside in the hot sunlight. Though the thought of demons liquefying in the sun made him smile. He’d pay money to see that.
A sharp crack of someone stepping on a stick made him pivot, lift his weapon.
He relaxed when he saw Lou, the Keeper who’d brought him on board to the demon hunters. Behind Lou were some of the other hunters-ones he knew-Derek and Gina, Rico and his brother Rafe, and Punk.
“I’m glad to see you guys.”
Lou nodded. “Sorry it took us so long. We had to come down from Rome.”
“Anything going on there?”
“Demon hunting,” Punk said with a smart-ass grin.
“Kill any?”
Punk shrugged and ran a hand over his dark spiky hair. “Don’t we always?”
Gina grinned. “I hear you’ve got some new breed of demon.”
“Yeah. Lou fill you in on them?”
Derek slung an arm around Gina’s shoulder. “Something about them appearing in the mist-our standard weaponry doesn’t work, but silver hurts them.”
“You got it.”
“Fun stuff,” Punk said. “Let’s go kill something.”
“You’ll get your chance, Punk,” Lou said. “Patience.”
“Lou, you know that’s not my thing.”
Ryder fought a smile. He liked Punk. Probably because Punk enjoyed killing demons, and that’s pretty much what made his day. Ryder understood that concept. He couldn’t disagree with Punk, either. That’s exactly what Ryder was in the mood for. Get in, kill demons, and get the women out of there.
Along with destroying the black diamond.
Lou had moved over to Michael. Their heads were bent together and they were whispering.
Keeper strategizing and sharing of secrets, no doubt. Which was fine. They could do whatever they wanted as long as the end result was getting Angie out of that castle. Ryder’s rifle rested in the cradle of his arms, his fingers itching to pull the trigger. It couldn’t be soon enough for him. But he understood the need for patience and strategy. He hated it, but it was necessary to the success of a mission.
Michael turned to them. “Though we hate to wait until nightfall because we know the demons are more active then, it’s too risky to try to make a move on the castle during daylight. As soon as the sun sets, we’ll crawl through the cover of the cactus field, then use the brush on the hillside to disguise us. We’ll come up the front and get in that way.”
“Are we using stealth to make our way in, or blasting?” Derek asked.
“There are three entries from the hillside,” Lou said, spreading the map out. “Front door, side kitchen entrance, and servants’ over here on the west.” He slid his laptop around to show them the outlay of the house. “We’ll split the teams, create a diversion at the front door, then slip in hunters through the other two entrances.”
“Looks like a cellar or basement here.” Ryder pointed so they could all see what he referenced.
Lou nodded. “Exactly. My guess, since demons prefer underground, is that they’re holding Angelique and Isabelle somewhere down below. Focus your team’s efforts there, Ryder. Derek, you and Gina take the main floor. Punk, you’re on the upper floors with yours, and for cover for Ryder’s team.”
“Got it,” Punk said.
Their assignments in order, they spent time discussing possible scenarios, how to handle what could go wrong, and then Michael opened up an oversized duffle bag, handing out pistols and clips along with boxes of ammo.
Ryder took the ammo and slid it open, then looked up at Michael. “Silver bullets?”
Michael’s lips curled. “Yeah. In case we face any of the new types of demons.”
“Just like silver kills werewolves in the movies,” Punk said, using the heel of his hand to jam in the clip. He cocked the slider back and loaded one in the chamber.
“Hey, I did that in one of my movies,” Gina said with a wide grin.
“Only this time you get real silver bullets,” Derek added.
“Sort of,” Michael said. “Only these aren’t werewolves. They’re much worse.”
“Do we have any idea what they are?” Punk asked. “I like to know what I’m fighting.”
“They’re not any kind of demon we’ve seen before,” Michael said. “And we haven’t had nearly enough exposure to them to know where they came from or what their purpose is. We’re lucky enough that Ryder and Angelique have had some one-on-one time with them so we at least know one of their weaknesses and how to combat them.”
Punk shoved an elbow in Ryder’s ribs. “Yeah, lucky you.”
Ryder arched a brow. “You jealous?”
“You know it.”
“Angelique saved my life. She took on a demon with her bare hands,” Ryder threw out there.
Punk grimaced. “Damn. I might like that woman.”
Ryder laughed. “Forget it. She’s mine.”
And just like that, he realized he’d claimed her, had stated his feelings about Angelique. Right in front of all these people, without second thoughts about saying it. It had just fallen out of his mouth. Easily, without any effort.
He waited for the stares, the questioning looks, even the questions.
“Too bad. She sounds more like my type. When a demon kills you, I’ll be sure to be around to comfort her. A few days with a real man like me, she’ll forget all about you.”
There were times Ryder was really thankful for Punk’s bizarre sense of humor. Now was one of them. He laughed and turned away, hoping that was the end of talk of Angie and him.
If anyone else had thoughts on the topic, no one said a word or gave him a strange look. They just busied themselves with their weapons. A few smiled at Punk’s comment. Derek just nodded and gave Ryder a knowing smile, then resumed checking his weaponry.
Maybe the only one it had been a big deal to had been Ryder. Hell, for him to say what he’d said had been freakin’ monumental. Of course no one would know that but him.
“Hey.”
He looked up at Punk.
“Yeah?”
“If you’re through mooning over your woman, how about we go kill some demons so you can get her back?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Isabelle woke in the darkness, shooting straight up to a sitting position. Fear snaked its way around her, along with the certain realization she was alone. The only sound she heard was her own breathing.
She remembered the church, the feeling of claustrophobia and sickness and needing to escape. Then the cooling mist and cold hands over her, bringing relief from the heat blistering her body. After that, only blackness and waking up here.
But where was here?
“Angie?”
Instinct told her she wasn’t back at the Realm’s castle. She shuddered. Something bad had happened to her. But what? It was so dark. She couldn’t even see her hand in front of her. She felt around, underneath her. Cloth, kind of scratchy. Some kind of bed. No, not even that. A ledge, hard underneath. With tentative movements she swung her leg over the side, feeling for the floor.